Police, correctional officers, security personnel, and even private individuals have a growing need for simultaneous protection from multiple types of penetration threats, including spike, knife and ballistic threats, in a single protective garment. Known materials that protect against knife threats typically have flexible metallic plates, metallic chain mails, or laminated, resinated, or coated fabrics. However, the flexible metallic components tend to increase the weight of vests and are difficult to be cut into irregular shapes to fit the body. Further, materials with laminated or resinated or coated fabrics are less satisfactory against knife and spike stab.
Further, merely combining separate materials, each known to protect against one threat, with other material(s) known to protect against other threat(s) does not usually provide a flexible light weight structure comfortable for body wear with adequate protection against multiple threats. Thus, there is a need for a flexible light weight structure that resists penetration by multiple threats. While in Europe knife and spike threats are of major concern, in the United States ballistics and spike threats are of more interest. It is a primary object to provide a flexible light weight structure that resists penetration by ballistic and spike-like threats.